JD.com CEO released after U.S. arrest; firm says he was falsely accused

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BEIJING, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The founder and chief executive of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc, Richard Liu, was arrested in the U.S. state of Minnesota on a charge of criminal sexual conduct and later released, a county sheriff’s department jail roster showed.

The charge against Liu, 45, was made just before midnight local time on Friday, and he was released just after 4 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff website. It showed Liu was “released pending complaint”.

JD.com in a statement on Sunday said Liu, whose Chinese name is Liu Qiangdong, was falsely accused.

“During a business trip to the United States, Mr. Liu was questioned by police in Minnesota in relation to an unsubstantiated accusation,” the company said.

“The local police quickly determined there was no substance to the claim against Mr. Liu, and he was subsequently able to resume his business activities as originally planned,” it said.

The company did not immediately provide further details, and Liu could not immediately be reached by Reuters. (Reporting by Cate Cadell in BEIJING and Kane Wu in HONG KONG; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Christopher Cushing)